snippet from Ch. 5 of 'till the wall's a friend of mine (the sterek AU I've been working on for a while now, formerly known as Hale Bait)
wanted to tag others but I'm posting this at work so I don't have the time unfortunately. so if you see this and there's something you've been working on and want to share, please take this as your low pressure tag! <3
As it turns out, they donāt get a chance to discuss anything Eli word-vomited after his panic attack.
Eli nearly jumps out of his skin when the Imperial March suddenly starts blaring in the quiet office just as Pops shuts the door behind him. āIs that coming from your phone?ā he asks incredulously. Since when did Pops have a special ringtone? Any time Eli has heard it ring, it was the boring ringtone that came pre-set when you bought the phone.
Pops just grimaces and hands Eli the glass of water and a tupperware container full of Maryās special triple chocolate cookies, reaching into his pocket for his phone just as it stops ringing. It immediately starts ringing again and Eli is surprised to see Pops roll his eyes before answering. āHey, son. Everything okay?ā
Eliās eyes widen, and he quickly busies himself with opening the box of cookies so it isnāt as obvious that heās eavesdropping. Heād bet anything that itās Stiles on the other end of the line. His dad may be as well be Popsā son for as close as they are, but Stiles, Popsā actual son, has never once come to town in the entire time Eli has been alive. No one has ever given Eli a reason why, either, and the topic is one that everyone seems to avoid as much as possible.
So sue him, heās curious about the guy.
Eli canāt hear what Stiles says, but Pops looks disappointed and a little sad before the look turns idignant. āAw hell, kid, you know Iād love to - no, itās not because Iām already full of fast food! You know youāve got this whole town turned against me.ā
He motions at Eli to hand him a cookie and Eli holds out the whole box, grinning when Pops winks at him after grabbing three cookies for himself. He gets settled behind his desk and takes a huge bite of one of them, before continuing to talk around the mouthful. āYes, I know youāve got access to my schedule. No, I am not currently eating one of Maryās cookies, you know that woman keeps those locked down tighter than Fort Knox.ā The voice on the other end rises in volume and Eli laughs as Pops holds the phone away from his ear. āJesus, Stiles, are you trying to make me go deaf?ā
Eli has given up any pretense that heās not shamelessly listening in, so heās leaning close enough to the desk to hear the buzz of a text message come through Popsā phone over Stilesā tinny, outraged voice coming through the speaker. āHang on, hang on, Iām getting a text message,ā Pops says. Eli hopes heāll put it on speaker so that he can hear what Stiles is saying since he still seems to be going despite being told to hang on, but Pops just looks at the screen for a moment before putting it back up to his ear, casting an indecipherable glance in Eliās direction. āNever mind, looks like Iām available after all. You got a place in mind?ā
The call wraps up disappointingly quickly after that, and Eli doesnāt even get a chance to fish for details before Pops sighs. āI hate to do this to you, kiddo, but it looks like your dad is on the way here to pick you up.ā
Suspicion immediately bubbles up in Eliās gut. āYou called him, didnāt you?ā
Pops doesnāt even have the decency to feign guilt. āOf course I did, Eli. I didnāt tell him anything you told me, but that was a pretty severe panic attack you had and I felt like it was something he needed to be aware of. I wasnāt expecting him to drop what he was doing to come get you.ā
āHeās dramatic like that,ā Eli mutters.
āHey now, cut the guy some slack. Youāre his son. Thereās nothing he wouldnāt do to make sure you were okay.ā The look on Popsā face as he speaks makes Eli wonder if heās not just talking about his dad, but before he can ask, the office door opens.
His dadās eyes immediately fall on him, quickly cataloguing every part of Eli to reassure himself that heās in one piece. āAm I interrupting?ā he asks after a moment.
Eli starts to say yes, but a look from Pops has his snapping his mouth shut, feeling chastised even though he hadnāt said a word. āOf course not. Youāve actually come at the perfect time; somethingās come up and I have somewhere I need to be.ā
Dad narrows his eyes at Pops. āEverything okay?ā
āYou know Iād tell you if it wasnāt,ā Pops says lightly, and Eli once again quickly busies himself with putting the lid back on the box of cookies so that neither of them notice the way his eyes have gone wide.
Pops is clearly hiding the fact that Stiles called from Dad. But why? He could have hidden it from Eli by stepping out of the room to take his call, but he didnāt, so it obviously isnāt meant to be that big of a secret. But then why keep it a secret from Dad at all? From what little Eli knows, Stiles and his dad were good friends before Stiles left for college -
Wait. Was his dad the reason Stiles doesnāt visit Beacon Hills?
ābut what if my friend gets offended and hates me and refuses to speak to me after i set a boundaryā easy peasy! that is not your friend. hope this helps
every time i start to feel cringe for being too deep in the hyperfixation i remember the intense depression i have waded through and have to remind myself that enjoyment is fleeting (so grab it with both hands), and life is for loving (so hold that love close), and if anyone thinks iām cringe they must not be having a very good time (and i hope they can find a good time soon).
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